Drawmer MC2.1 Monitor Controller - Manual (Page 5)

5 MC2.1 - Monitor Controller
Whether you’re mastering a cd/dvd, recording, checking a mix for balance and e.q,
doing A/B comparisons, plus a multitude of other tasks, you’ll have spent weeks
designing the perfect studio environment and a fortune on active speakers, dynamics
processors, various microphone and preamplifier combinations as well as a whole
room full other gear, one thing is for sure - a monitor controller is central to every
recording setup and probably the most important element of the entire signal
chain - providing the ‘reference’ listening signal that enables the user to achieve
the optimal mic placements, the perfect balance and EQ etc. There is one thing
that should always be absolutely guaranteed - that you can rely on the accuracy of
your monitor controller.
It is imperative that what you’ve recorded is exactly what you hear - this is the
philosophy that is at the heart of the design of the MC2.1. A monitor controller
should certainly not degrade the quality of a recording in any way, but it should not
artificially improve it either, otherwise how are you supposed to trust anything that
you’re recording. You may have come across the term WYSIWYG as used in web
design - ‘what you see is what you get’ - we would like to think that the MC2.1 is the
audio equivalent to this term - ‘What You Record Is What You Get’.
Active vs. Passive Circuits
There is a great debate as to which is best - a passive or active monitor control
circuit. The theory is that passive monitor controllers must be best, since they
do not add transformers or other components to the signal path, along with the
noise and distortion that they can bring, however they have severe disadvantages
over active circuits. The most significant is that the output impedance of the
connected source equipment and the input impedance of the power amp or
active speaker will affect the workings of the passive controller - each needs
buffering to remain reliable and consistent, otherwise level matching problems
will be inevitable. Since even the best cables have capacitance, it is extremely
important to keep cable lengths to an absolute minimum (i.e. less than a couple
of meters) to avoid signal degradation especially in high frequency signals.
Long cables will act like a simple low frequency filter.
Furthermore, it is incredibly difficult to get a mono signal from a passive circuit
without affecting the sound so any kind of reliable mix checking becomes near
impossible.
Active designs make it easier and more reliable to guarantee a high performance
level as the signal attenuation and switching is actively buffered, as well as
providing complete control over distortions, crosstalk, frequency response, and
transient fidelity. Moreover, cable lengths of tens of meters should not be an
issue. Furthermore, it makes it possible to introduce mix checking features that
would otherwise be missing. The disadvantage with active monitor controllers
is that the electronics have the potential to introduce noise and distortion.
Designing a clean monitor control system is far from simple, however, using
only the very best components and clever circuit design, with the Drawmer
MC2.1 we have overcome all of these problems and managed to combine the
best of both - whilst retaining the transparency and responsiveness that a
passive circuit would bring with the advantages of an active one.